


Restoration

by restrained_ubiquity



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, charming queen friendship, missing year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-20 08:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3643671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/restrained_ubiquity/pseuds/restrained_ubiquity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A moments confession between Charming and Regina during the Missing Year.  Mentions of non-con, nothing explicit.</p><p>Was a one shot, but now its morphing into a series of semi-related EC one shots because I can't get enough of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this a long time ago and its been gnawing at me so I decided to take it out and polish it up a bit. 
> 
> Thank so much for everyone who reads, reviews, and leaves kudos. I truly appreciate it and it makes me smile to know that my nerdy heart isn't alone.

When David found her there was magic flowing from her hands, swirling around her and filling every inch of the desiccated village she stood in the center of.  One of the many she had destroyed in her vengeful hunt for his wife.  The Prince dismounted and cautiously approached the queen, his hand on his sword ready for a fight.  He stopped when he was close enough to see the tears running down the cheeks of the Evil Queen.  David watched her for several moments.  Her eyes were screwed shut in concentration; the hamlet around her coming back to life under her magic.  He wasn’t sure how he felt about her anymore.  The last few years had been so different than the lives they all led here in the Enchanted Forest.  Here, he had hated her, feared her, would have murdered her if not for Snow’s insistence that she was more than the cruelty and malice she released on all who crossed her path. 

He’d seen glimpse of that more in Storybrooke: her grief at losing Daniel again, fear at the vengeance of the town, but mostly her unyielding love for Henry.  Then in Neverland David saw the fierceness of a mother in her and thought perhaps that was the woman Snow knew as a child; the one that read her stories and soothed her nightmares.

Regina slumped forward, her hands rested on her knees until those too bucked and she folded into the dirt, her heavy skirts billowing around her.  David fought the urge to go to her the moment her magic stopped flowing.  He knew something was wrong, but he also knew that Regina was a private person and she might burn him alive if he invaded her space.  “If you’re going to continue to lurk in the shadows you might want to move.  The sun will be setting soon.”  Regina sat back on her heals.  There was no point in avoiding the inevitable confrontation and she was too weak to put up a fight at the moment.  “Why did you come after me?”

“Because you stormed out for some unknown reason and no one, especially the person the Wicked Witch is after should be out here on their own.”  David approached her.  Her raised eyebrow let him know she wasn’t buying his story.  “Snow was concerned,” he confessed.

“Of course she was,” Regina sneered, exasperated.  It was a sweet gesture, Regina couldn’t deny that.  Her step-daughter had surprised her by having the king’s chamber remodeled for her, wanting her to have her privacy in the spacious rooms.  She had no idea that Regina was the one that sealed them so long ago or that she hadn’t set foot in them since the night the king was killed.

“What are you doing out here anyway?”  David helped her to her feet and walked them to the newly flowing water fountain in the center of the court.  Regina wavered slightly with each step and she was grateful for David’s steadying hand on her elbow.  It had been quite a while since she’d used her power this way and she’d forgotten the toll it took on her body.

“Not everyone wants to stay in the castle,” Regina explained.  “I’ve heard people talking.  I was just trying to repair some of the damage so I didn’t have to listen to the whining.”  Now it was David’s turn to raise his brow to her unconvincing answer.  “I’ve trapped us all here; I can at least try to give people back their homes.”  Her sincerity shocked him, but then again it didn’t.  Hadn’t she been trying to repent?  Hadn’t letting his daughter and grandson escape the curse been the ultimate proof?    

“Why did you run?”  David needed to get back to the point.  They both needed to get back to the castle before dark.

“Because I didn’t want your precious Snow White to—“   The thought stuck in Regina’s throat.  “Do you know why I trust you, David?”

The sudden change caught him off guard.  “I didn’t know you did, so no, Regina.  I have no idea why you trust me.”

“Because you’ve never forgiven for me for what I’ve done.  Because you still hold me accountable for this.”  She waved her hand encompassing the remnants of a home her magic had not yet restored.  “For Emma.”  Her voice grew quite at the mention on the Savior’s name; the woman who was now the sole mother of their son. 

“I lost friends, the woman I love, our daughter, 30 years of my life!”  David was up and facing her.  “I don’t know if I’ll ever let that go.  I’m sorry I’m not as forgiving as my wife.  You destroyed everything we had for no reason!”  The fury David had held at bay came rushing back at the mention of his daughter: the child he never knew and the woman he’d never see again.

“You were happy!” Regina seethed.  “You had everything!  No matter what I did, no matter how much pain I caused you were still so infuriatingly happy!”  Regina rose to face him, never one to back down from a fight, but this was a fight she wasn’t sure she wanted to win.

“Why did you run?” David yelled again, his breath hot on Regina’s face.  “You owe me at least that answer: that one answer.”  David wasn’t even sure why he cared.  Snow cared, that should be enough of a reason for him to go chasing this infuriating woman through the forest, but it was more.  Regina was right.  He would never forgive her past.  But did he want her to suffer?  She’d lost her child, they shared that pain now.  The paralyzing fear that your child is out there and you can do nothing to protect them.  It bonded them together somehow, their children being together, but lost.  And he couldn’t deny his concern for the broken woman before him.

“Promise me you’ll never tell her.”  Regina seemed so much smaller than he had remembered; the elaborate dress and makeup looking more like a costume than a regal wardrobe.

“I can’t do that.”  David sat back down, motioning for her to join him. 

Regina sighed as she joined him.  She trusted him after all; she couldn’t go back on that now.  “When I married Leopold, he was mad with grief.  He never saw me as anything but a replacement for his precious Ava.  But I was never her, never good enough and he _never_ let me forget that.”  Regina stared hard at the ground.  She was lost in a faraway memory.  David remained silent at her side, waiting.  “And the older Snow got, the more she looked like her mother. The more he saw his wife instead of his daughter.”  Regina could taste the bile rising in her throat.  She forced herself to look David in the eye, not bothering to hide the prickling tears.  “I was afraid for her, David. I was afraid he’d hurt her like—“  She turned away unable to finish the thought, leaving David to figure out the rest.   “I used Sydney to kill him because I was too much of a coward to do it myself.”

David exhaled deeply.  He stood again and began to pace the courtyard, processing the confession he’d just heard.  Despite their tumultuous past, he knew every word the queen said was true.  “How old are you, Regina?”

“What?” Regina scoffed.  “I’m trying to confess my sins to you and you ask me about my age?”  She was walking away from him, but then decided not to give him the satisfaction.  “If that’s all you care about, Charming, I honestly don’t even know how old I am.  Between the curses and traveling through the realms, I’ve lost track.  Old enough not to waste my time trying to explain my actions to a shepherd!”  She was now the one taking charge and let her devilish grin spread wide when the mighty prince took a step back.

“Regina, wait!”  David was quickly losing control of the situation.  This wasn’t where he intended the conversation to go.  He grabbed her arm before she could saunter off again.  “When we met, you and I, when we spent all those years trying to kill each other…we were all adults, but Snow talks about you before.  When she was a child and you were her step-mother.  When you braided her hair and sang her lullabies.  When you _loved_ her.  I suppose I always assumed you used a spell or a—“

“When you’re 10 years old, 17 seems so much older than it is,” Regina spat out, but the venom was out of her voice.  She sank back down as David released her arm.

“Seventeen,” he repeated as Regina looked off into the distant.  “You were only seventeen?”

“It doesn’t excuse anything I did.”

“No, it doesn’t.  But it makes it a little easier to understand.”  David’s hand gripped her shoulder.

“I can’t stay in those rooms,” she looked at him, her eyes practically pleading.  “I know she meant well, but I can’t.  I just can’t.”  The tears were back, blurring her vision and Regina wondered how long it would take until her body simply quit producing all these drops of grief.

“Okay.” David smiled and it was suddenly just that easy.  Regina couldn’t help but laugh a little at the ease of ‘goodness’ the prince possessed.

“Thank you.”  David looked at her questioningly, not understanding what he was being thanked for.  He’d forgiven nothing and she knew he never fully would.  “For not telling her,” she answered his unvoiced question.

“I never said I wouldn’t,” David said plainly.

“You didn’t have too.  You love her David, and you don’t want to her hurt either.”  Regina knew she was right, knew David would keep her secret.  They were interwoven now, their love for Snow, Henry, even Emma, tied them together no matter what pulled them apart in the past.

“Will you come back to the castle with me?”  David asked, offering his hand in a genuine act of chivalry which, of course, Regina blatantly ignored.

“I’m not done here yet,” she stretched her arms and flexed her fingers.  “I want to finish so the peasants can return to the forest where they belong.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”  David laughed as he mounted his horse, circling Regina slowly.  He watched in awe for a moment as the magic flowed from her once again.  “Regina,” he said loud enough to get her attention.  She opened her eyes to meet his.  “Be careful.”

The not-so-evil queen nodded and continued her work; she was bringing life back to the devastation she’d left behind. As David made his way back to the castle he hoped Regina could someday repair herself as well.


	2. Lightning

David had gotten less than a mile before the skies blackened out of nowhere.  He didn’t know if he could make it back to the castle before the storm was upon him. Just as if the heavens were mocking him, it hit.  Rain and sleet whipping around stinging his face, jagged lightening the only thing illuminating the path in front of him.  He cried out in frustration, knowing he had no choice to take shelter and ride out the storm; he was too far from the castle, too far from anywhere he remembered with any certainty after so much time away from this realm.

There was another flash, but not from the storm.  Purple sparks surged up from the ground to his right.  The strong pulse caused the horse to buck back almost knocking David to the forest floor. Realization hit him harder than the rain: Regina.  He’d remembered how spent she was, her magic draining the strength from her body and he cursed himself for leaving her alone.  Not that she would have let him take her back.  “Damned, stubborn woman!” he yelled to the rain as he turned the protesting stallion toward the dissipating purple smoke.  He could feel the vibrations of uncontrolled magic.

The moment David dismounted the horse took off.  The Prince could do nothing but watch the stallion flee into the forest, finding his own refuge.  His thoughts of how he should have let the animal lead him home were interrupted when the next flash of lightening revealed a slumped form on the ground in front of him.  She was face down in the dirt, nothing but dark skirts, dark, matted hair, unrecognizable as anything living save her hand that fisted in the grass.  “Regina!” David ran to her, rolling her on to her back, and tried to wipe the water and mud from her face.  It was futile in the storm.  He scooped her into his arms, her small frame heavy and awkward with the drenched skirts hanging from her.  Her head lulled against him as he waited for the next strike to show him the path to shelter.

He ventured further into the wood, the thick foliage providing some reprieve from the battering rain but did nothing for darkness around them.  He shifted Regina’s weight and knew he wouldn’t be able to carry her much longer.  When the next bout of lightning showed a battered building in the distance, David made a bee line for it.

It may once have been a work shop he noticed as he kicked the door open.  It was now nothing more than a shack, but it had walls and a roof and he was soaked to the bone and low on options.  He lay Regina on what was left of a tattered straw bed in the corner and probed her neck for a pulse.  It was erratic, her breathing short, shallow gasps.  They needed to get dry and warm quickly.  His teeth were chattering audibly over the storm and he couldn’t stop the constant shiver that ran through his body.  David pulled off his sodden cloak and shirt, letting both fall to the floor with a wet plop before rolling Regina towards him and working at her own cloak and skirts until she was left in her slip.  “Could really use a fireball right about now, Regina,” he muttered as her ruined clothes joined his on the floor.

“Need something dry enough to burn,” she barely whispered.  David wouldn’t have heard her over the storm if he hadn’t been pulling her wet hair away from her body.

Her eyes weren’t open and she hadn’t moved a single finger.  The next loud crash revealed the intricate scar that ran down her newly exposed arms: branching out like a snowflake and dancing across her fingers.  David traced the pattern, fingertips hovering just over her skin. “Regina?  You okay?” 

“No.”

Her simple answer without the usual bite and sarcasm they always addressed with scared him more than the angry lines on her body.  “I think you got hit.”  He smoothed his hands over his face, trying to keep her conscious, to open her eyes.

“…fountain hit…jumped.  …couldn’t control…magic…”  He understood enough to piece it together. 

“We’re not going anywhere until this passes.  Don’t move.”  He heard her mumble something that he was sure was an insult but it didn’t quite make it past her throat.  The intent of it eased his fears nonetheless.  David made his way around their current lodgings looking for anything that might be useful.  _Blankets, whiskey, and a hospital_ , he thought bleakly, still not adjusting to this land and its lack of the modern conveniences he’d grown accustomed to.  When he returned with a tattered excuse for a blanket her eyes were open and she was staring intently at her wiggling fingers.

“Move your toes,” David spread the blanked over her and placed his hand over her feat, not wanting to wait for another lightning strike to confirm their movement.  “That’s a good sign,” he said as he moved over her on the bed.  He moved slowly, not sure the pallet would hold both of their weight.

“What are you doing?” Regina asked, more alarmed then she intended to sound as David scooted in behind her.

“Getting warm.  Stop being so prissy.”  She huffed in response, but pressed her back into his chest and didn’t bother to stifle the sigh when he wrapped his freezing arms around her.  “You’re burning up,” his body shivered at the sudden shift in temperature. 

“You wanted a fireball.”

“So you gave yourself a fever?  Is that even possible?”  The heat was radiating off of her and the chill quickly left his body.

“You’d be surprised what’s possible.”  She was so tired, warming herself took what little energy she had left and she knew she couldn’t sustain in for long.

“You can turn it off,” David told her, having no idea how she ‘turned it on’ in the first place, but he could see that she was struggling, could feel the tension in her body.

“It’s cold,” she murmured against the arm that cradled her head.

“It won’t be for long.  The storm will rage itself out soon.  Get some sleep and you can poof us back to the castle.”  David noticed he was rubbing her arm again; exhaustion threatening to take over as they were both lulled by the simple repetitive motion.

 She nodded against him; it was all she had the energy to do.  She was warm, and safe, and how she felt so completely relaxed in the arms of Snow’s Prince Charming she didn’t have the will to contemplate just now.  She heard herself whimper slightly as he pulled her impossibly closer, the rough blanket he’d covered her with the only separation between them.  “Thank you, David,” she whispered but it was lost as the storm picked up again around them. 

“Sleep,” David said into her ear although the steady rise and fall of her chest told him she already was.  He let himself fully relax against her.  He’d always been fascinated with the raw natural power of thunder storms, had always been comforted by the crashes and howls that sent others scurrying in fear.  As he let the torrent lull him to sleep he wondered if it was that same fascination that had always drawn him to the woman that now lay in his arms.


	3. Running

It was Tuesday.  Not his birthday, not Christmas, not any other day that would hold any significance, but it was a Tuesday that broke her.  She felt the emptiness hit her square in the chest, harder than any physical blow she’d ever endured and Regina staggered under the force of it.  She had welcomed the distraction of the Wicked Witch, found herself looking forward to the next attack that she could thwart by firing magic at her simian army that burned in her blood and forced her to focus on the rage, the pain, everything but the thing she loved most.  The child lost to her forever.

Regina couldn’t breathe.  The loss was suffocating.  She needed air, needed to get away from this prison that held too much darkness.  So she ran.  Her feet pounded the forest floor, skirts tearing on branches.  She ran until she could hear nothing but the blood pulsing in her ears, feel nothing but the sweat on her skin and the burning in her muscles.  She ran until she collapsed in a tangled heap of dress and shaking limbs and then she screamed.

* * *

 

Snow was pregnant.  David smiled, he held her, told her how happy he was, how much he loved her, and how he agreed: this child would fill the void in their lives since being sent back to the Enchanted Forest.  And he was, truly was all of those things, but he was also furious.  Unlike his wife, David hadn’t given up hope of being reunited with their daughter.  He missed his life in Storybrooke; the curse Regina had cast gave him opportunities he would never have had here, even as king.  Especially as king.  He missed working with his daughter, teaching his grandson to swordfight, having a beer at Granny’s with Leroy.  He missed being David Nolan.  Maybe it was selfish, but he had never asked for this life and was growing weary of always having to be Prince Charming.

The Prince had no destination in mind when he mounted his horse and headed into the woods.  He just needed to clear his head, to get away from stone walls, ceremony, and duty.  He concentrated on the steady rhythm of the stallion’s hooves, trusting the beast to take him where it would.

* * *

She’d somehow found her way to their little shack in the woods.  Somehow her magic seemed to draw her to this place.  Regina heard him approach, his horse utterly spent from the hard gallop from the castle.  She wondered if he planned on coming back here, or, if like herself, it was just where he needed to be.  She didn’t move when he came through the door, made no excuse for her disheveled appearance, or offered no explanation for her being there.  She didn’t have the energy or the will to put her walls back up.  It was only David, after all, and he’d already seen them come crashing down.

She wasn’t broken when he came upon her; David had come to realize that there was no force strong enough to break Regina Mills.  But she was as close as he’d ever seen her and David knew he was one of the few that had seen her teetering on the edge of falling apart.  It was a curious bond that he had with the queen.  He was certain on some level they both still hated each other deeply, but it was a feeling he was finding it harder to hold on to.  They were both two people: Regina and the Queen, David and the Prince.  They understood that, respected that, often reminded the other with a look or an inconsequential touch which persona was needed.

David said nothing when he entered the abandoned cabin.  The fact that Regina was curled into herself on the tattered cot should have surprised him, but somehow it didn’t.  She didn’t move when he tossed his cloak at her feet; she didn’t blink when he sat next to her; she didn’t flinch when he pulled back the hair that had fallen lose from her braid; she didn’t pull away when he leaned in to kiss her.

He didn’t know he had ever thought about kissing her until his fingers were tangled in the hair at her neck and her lips were moving softly against his.  There was a fleeting moment when he thought that he shouldn’t be doing this, when he remembered that what had driven him from the castle today was Snow’s incessant hope-filled bantering about the announcement of their pregnancy.  David stopped.  He pulled his lips away but didn’t release her neck as he stared at her with wide eyes that showed the uncertainty of his actions. 

“You should go, Charming.” Her whispered words echoed in the silence that surrounded them.  Regina patted his cheek and ran her thumb across the first lips that had touched hers in years.

He should go.  Every part of David knew this to be true.  He should get up, get back on his horse and get himself back to his wife, back to duty; trusting Regina to never speak of this indiscretion again.  So why wasn’t he moving?  Why were his fingers still exploring her skin?  Why were his eyes still darting between her bloodshot eyes and swollen lips?  “And if I don’t want to?” he finally asked.

She was quiet a moment too long and David expected her to vanish in a dramatic cloud of purple, or to use her magic to send him back to his wife, but she didn’t.  “Then you should kiss me again.”  There was desperation in her voice that David had rarely heard.  Her entire being shook with it. She was alone, he realized.  While he was running from, she was running to.


	4. Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David will never really know what possessed him to kiss her. He’ll wonder about it later, in passing her in the darkened halls; he’ll wonder what possessed her to kiss him back; to let themselves be held, caressed, tasted, loved. No. Not loved. They cared for each other, truly, but neither would dare call it love. It was need in its purest and simplest form.

She should push him away; she should make him stop; she should run out of here as fast as her shaking legs could possibly travel and never return to this god forsaken shack and this imbecile of a man who she would ruin. But Regina couldn’t bring herself to look away. He was holding her neck, eyes flicking every few seconds back to her lips and the words were out of her mouth before she even thought them. Then you should kiss me again. Of course he obeyed. David pulled her back to him in a gentle kiss that quickly deepened. 

His lips left hers and moved across her jaw, down her neck, while his hands continued to caress her body. Regina leaned into him, letting her body relax into his touch. Why the hell did he have to be so gentle, so caring? She didn't want this. Not with him. A quick hard fuck in a dark corner, just enough for her to feel anything other than alone, but the bastard would have none of it. He held her against his chest, letting her bury her face in his neck. She held him close as she felt the laces on her dress loosen. Regina could feel his growing erection against her thigh but he was waiting, taking his time, making her feel things she shouldn't be feeling for someone else's prince. And it was too much. "David, I can't...” she started, but couldn’t bring herself to finish. Because she could. Because she needed. “I'm just..." 

"Empty," he finished for her raising her face to his. She saw the tears in his eyes and understood that David’s need was as deep as her own. His mouth covered hers again and they took their time exploring each other. She tasted like apples and the irony of it had him chuckling into her mouth. He told her so when she broke the kiss and it earned him the eye roll he was accustomed to, but she couldn’t help smile herself. Regina took the opportunity of their separation to stand, letting her dress fall to the floor. She watched David watch her as he too stood, removed his boots and shirt and pulled her back against his chest. They don’t speak after that.

David had heard the rumors. It was hard not to. He knew of her exploits with the black Knights: one night stands that never stayed the night. Some thought she controlled their hearts, bent them to her will and that certainly may have been the case. But seeing her like this he doubted those excuses for men needed much persuasion to bed their queen, to let themselves be controlled by this powerfully fragile creature. 

Regina couldn’t stop the moan that comes from deep in her throat when his hands skim over her stomach, up her sides and kneed her breast. It's been so long since anyone took their time with her body that she can't even remember when a man’s hands had been this gentle. Maybe they never had. 

David's no saint, but he's been faithful to his wife. The feel of Regina is so very different from Snow: she’s fire where Snow is calm, curves where she angles, hungry cries to soft moans. She's grinding against him, a slow sway of her hips that had David dropping his head to her shoulder and tightening his grip on her breast. He sucked at the spot behind her ear that made her knees week and had her craning her neck to get at his mouth again. His hand leaves her hip and cups her sex. She whimpered into his mouth as his fingers slipped through her folds. "David," she half whispers when mouths part for air but the sound dies in her throat when he finds her clit. 

He was holding her up before she realized she was falling, an arm tight around her waist; her fingers digging into his flesh at the back of his neck. He half carried her back to the cot as not to break their contact. His fingers continued to stroke her as he laid her down. She was panting and writhing by the time he laid his body alongside hers, continuing to kiss her exposed flesh until her body was covered in sweat and spit. Regina was on the edge, her head spinning, muscles tight as she grasped at whatever part of him she could reach. She needed more, everything.

She pulled his hands away, moaning at the loss of contact as she pushed herself up on her elbows and hooked an arm around his shoulders. Everything stopped as their eyes locked in a silent agreement: there was no going back, this would not happen again. David shed his pants and hovered above her. The sounds of the world outside were drowned out by their ragged breath as Regina gripped his erection and led him into her body. He stayed still, giving her time and tears slipped from her eyes at not having to ask him to go slow. She nodded against his forehead when she was ready and David began to move within her. Regina ran her hands up and down his back, feeling the toned muscles contracting under her touch.

They found a steady pace; David’s face was pressed next to hers, but he no longer looked her in the eye. Regina felt his tears pooling on her neck. She held him tighter, arms and legs wrapped around the man coming apart above her. She squeezed his shoulders, urging him to go faster, harder, to take what he needed from her. But of course she knew David would never hurt her, never treat her body with anything other than respect. “It’s okay,” she whispered as she ran her fingers through his hair, her hips urging him to pick up the pace. “We’re okay.” The rest was breathless moans and the sound of skin against skin. 

Regina wasn’t expecting the orgasm to hit her when it did. She couldn’t control the cries that ripped from her throat or the tremors that racked her body. She clung to him, nails raking down his back, limbs going rigid than lax as she rode the waves of her pleasure. David continued to thrust deep within her, his steady pace growing more and more erratic until his body finely let go. The primal growl of his release was immediately followed by heavy sobs that racked his body. He held himself on shaking arms until Regina pulled him to her chest, her own body shaking with the force of his cries. 

Neither was sure how much time had passed as they held on to each other. The room was dark now; the chill of the autumn evening surrounded them. At some point David’s cloak had been spread over their still naked bodies. Regina’s head rested against his chest and she slipped in and out of sleep listening to the steady beat of his heart. “Are they okay, Regina?” David knew he didn’t have to tell her who ‘they’ were. Emma and Henry: his family. He needed an honest answer, needed to know the truth. “Are they really okay?”

“They’re okay,” she ran her fingers over his chest. The certainty in her voice was all David needed to hear, but the queen kept talking, her breath warm against his chest. “As hard as it is to admit, Emma’s strong, she’s successful, and she loves…her son.” David held her tighter when her voice caught, when her face turned into him a bit more. “I gave her my memories” she explained, lips now moving against his chest. “A good, full life with her son. They’ll be fine. They’ll keep each other safe. Henry will…Henry will grow up loved. That’s what’s important.”

“Thank you, for saving my family.” David loosened his hold as Regina rolled off him onto her back.

She laughed through fresh tears. “I destroyed your family, Charming.” She waved her hand and they were both fully clothed, sitting side by side on the cot. Her hair was neatly braided and David didn’t need to look to know the scratches she’d left on his back were gone.

“That wasn’t you.” He got to his feet and held is arm out to her, pulling her from the bed. They’d been gone too long.

“No, it wasn’t,” Regina shook her head, once again separating herself from the evil queen.

“I love her,” David blurted out as they turned to go, feeling the sudden urge to say it out loud. 

“So do I,” Regina easily admitted. She wondered when she had become the woman who could admit to loving Snow White. A sad smile pulled at her lips as she walked out with him into the night. “This never happened,” Regina pulled his arms tightly around her.

“I know,” David whispered, resting his chin on top of her head. The moment was over and they both knew they couldn’t come back. “I won’t come back here, Regina. Keep it as your sanctuary.” They both laughed at the sight of the crumbling shed behind them. “Can you get back alright?” he asked. Ever the Prince Charming as he mounted his horse for the journey back. Regina only raised an eyebrow that told him she’d be back in her bed before he was halfway down the path. “Of course. Goodnight, Regina.”  


“Goodnight, David.” She watched him ride off until the darkness swallowed him, and then strained to listen until she could no longer hear his horse’s steady gallop. When she was certain he was well on his way she brought fire to her palm and ignited the shed. The rotting wood caught quickly and she sank to her knees and watched until it burned itself to the ground.


	5. Ask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Regina helped Snow cast the dark curse in the missing year...

“Regina will you please stop running away from me?” He’d been trailing after her for the better part of the night. Each time he’d found her she poofed away again leaving him grasping at purple smoke. Just as she’d done in the woods when he’d hatched this horrible plan in the first place.

“If you’re going to say anything regarding the casting of the Dark Curse, Charming, I am going to say what I’ve been saying. Find Doc and get your head examined because it will kill you. You will be dead and there is no coming back from that. No spell, no true love’s kiss, nothing. You’re just gone. I’ve caused enough death. I won’t cause yours.”

“It has to be done, Regina,” David lunged at her as she started to raise her arms to call the smoke again. He grabbed her around the waist and pushed her against the stone column. “We have to get to Emma; we need her light magic to defeat Zelena. You said it yourself; there is no other way back to that realm than the curse. I’m not going to cause the death of my pregnant wife, Regina. That leaves her to cast it. It’s a simple choice.”

“It’s not simple at all, David!” Regina yelled in his face. He held her in place with strong arms on her biceps. He was smart, her idiot, he was close enough that if she used her magic to flee again she’d only take him with her. They were having this conversation whether she wanted to or not. “I can’t do it. I won’t.”  
“Why? Give me one reason why the Evil Queen is suddenly unable to rip out a heart?” His words stung. She recoiled at the sound or her former moniker spat from his lips; He’d spent so much time convincing her that she was no longer the Evil Queen that she had started believing it.

“Because you’re my friend! You’re my only goddamned friend, David and you cannot ask me to do this!” Maybe she wasn’t the evil queen anymore, but she was still Regina Mills and she never backed down. 

“If there was any other way don’t you think I would do it? If I could do it myself and save both of you from this, don’t you think I would? I’m asking my friend to rip out my heart so that the woman I love can crush it. I don’t want to ask you to do this. You know it’s the only way and you…you’re the only one, Regina.” His voice echoed through the empty corridors. He was shaking her shoulders, hard enough for her hair to fall lose. He hadn’t even realized he was doing it and released her instantly when he recognized the fire in her eyes.

Regina looked away, but not out of fear. She was angry, furious, but only with herself. How could she have been so stupid; she’s making it all about them, about her and Snow and their loss of this infuriatingly selfless fool. He’s dying for them, for all of them, for a shot in the dark plan that might not change anything, for a problem that should be hers alone. “Could you be less heroic?” her voice shook and she didn’t try to mask it. “Could you be less you?” She slammed her palms against his chest and he expected her to shove him away; he braced for the force of her frustrated magic to shoot from her palms. Perhaps she expected the same because she’s stared at them: jeweled fingers that dug into the fabric of his vest. Then she melted, pulled herself closer to him and let her forehead fall to his chest. “I’m sorry,” she whispered against the steady beat of the heart she’ll rip out.

“Me too.” David dropped his chin to the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He doesn’t touch her often (she’s still far too guarded for her own good even after all they’ve been through) but he’s always struck by how physically small she is. Slight even, with all the costuming and the attitudes aside and he hopes that she’ll let others see her someday.

David felt her inhale deeply and let his arms drop seconds before she pushed him away. “It’ll take me some time to prepare.” She’s all business, shoulders squared and jaw set to the task at hand. “I’ll come get you when it’s time for the final ingredient.” Her eyes flicked briefly to his chest then held his gaze as long as she could before brushing past him. He grabbed her hand and noticed instantly the tremble in her fingers.

“I have one more thing to ask of you.” He’s faced away from her, doesn’t think he’s strong enough to ask of her this final thing. 

She didn’t turn, couldn’t face him again just yet and certainly didn’t need to hear the plea that’s was about to leave his lips. They’re back to back, fingers loosely intertwined between them, both staring down a future they couldn’t avoid. “Nothing will happen to them as long as I’m alive.” She stepped away and David allowed her fingers to slip from his hand. The Evil Queen just vowed to protect Snow White. He allowed himself a moment to appreciate the absurdity of it all; of how far their strange little family has come, of how he won’t be there to see it grow further.


	6. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picks up right where the last chapter left off. Thank you for your interest and reviews!

It was time. The cauldron bubbled with the putrid smell of the Dark Curse. Regina sat on the floor in the corner of the room, knees pulled up under her chin. Her head swam with memories of the last time she inhaled this stench, when she stood on shaking legs with her father’s heart clutched in her hand. She wasn’t that woman: dark, broken, soulless, evil. She’d been focused only on her revenge, on destroying the pair she was presently avoiding. Blind to everything but rage and pain. Now she was crying in a corner like the weak and broken child she’d killed hundreds to prove she wasn’t.

“Regina?” Snow’s soft voice was barely audible over the boiling curse. She’d been crying. Of course she had, why wouldn’t she be? She was about to kill the love of her life. Regina didn’t get up. Red eyes met red eyes as Snow lowered herself to the floor next to her step mother. “It’s time, isn’t it?”

Regina only nodded, fresh tears falling down her cheeks as she pulled Snow against her chest and held on tight as the younger woman shook in her arms. She hadn’t held her, had barely touched her since she was a child, but Snow clung to her like it was the most natural act in the world. “I promised him I’d look after you, both of you.” Regina spoke softly into Snow’s hair as her hand moved down to the swell of her stomach. “So try not to annoy me and make sure he doesn’t ruin any of my things with his grubby little baby hands.” 

Snow pushed herself up so that they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. Her cries were subsiding, but the baby still moved restlessly in her womb. “It’s a boy? You can tell?” Snow asked with a hand around her middle. 

“Sorry. I…” Regina looked lost. She’d sensed the child before Snow knew even knew she was pregnant; the steady stream of true love’s magic poured from the next Prince Charming. It was like a beacon. Regina could feel it in her every nerve every time Snow was near.

“It’s okay. I had a feeling.” Snow groaned out as Regina pulled her to her feat, still unaccustomed to the new form her body was taking. “Can I do this, Regina? Am I strong enough to do this?”

“You have to be.” Neither woman was sure if Regina was speaking to Snow or herself as the queen walked off just far enough not to be intrusive as David entered the Chamber and instantly held his wife. He’s reassuring her, telling Snow every rational reason he had just laid out for Regina hours before. Had it really only been hours? It seemed a lifetime had passed since he’d convinced her to let him die for them. She should know; she’d lived through more than a few of them. It was enough, had been enough. She’d had her happiness with her son and more than enough loss. She could be ready for this, ready to die, but it would do them no good. What a cruel twist of fate that a hero had to die so the villain had a chance at her happily ever after.

“Do it.” His words draw her back from her thoughts. She didn’t bother to wipe the tears as she walked toward them. It had come to this. The pair she’d hunted and tortured for years waiting for her to separate them for eternity. A vengeance gift wrapped and hand delivered, but one that she no longer wanted.

There was nothing more to be said, but Regina heard herself talking nonetheless: platitudes, assurances, and what she hoped he knew was remorse. Then her hand was in his chest, fingers curling gently around his heart and for a fraction of a second time stopped with his pained gasp. She felt the organ’s warm fluttering against her palm. Had they all done that? Every heart she had callously plucked? Had she never taken this second to feel the life she was about to destroy or was it just him?   
Time resumes and she pulls David’s heart from his chest, staring at the glowing purity in her hand. The different shades of red, degrees of light, the texture smooth as glass and just as hard. It’s the last heart her hand will ever hold. She makes this silent promise to him, to be better in the life that he’s allowing her to keep. She’ll do right by his sacrifice.

She has to pull Snow’s hand from his to place the heart in her step-daughters reluctant hand. This time she won’t let herself look away. She watches him hold his wife’s gaze until the light leaves his eyes, shudders at the sound his body makes as it hits the stone floor. When Snow covers his lifeless body with her own, Regina covers her mouth in an attempt to muffle the sobs she can no longer hold in. 

Regina’s struggling to keep herself together, to breathe without gulping air when she sees Snow suddenly staring at her with pleading eyes. The princess is confident: talking nonsense about splitting her heart and faith and that damned hope, but Regina believes her. She can’t explain it, but she knows Snow is right, knows that they can all live, that the young woman’s heart is indeed strong enough. Now it’s up to her to steady her shaking hands. Regina concentrates on the heart, just the heart, not the pair lying next to her. It’s just a heart, an object to cleave, magic that she can perform. 

There’s an audible crack that echoes around her as the organ splits down the center, both halves beating strong and bright. She releases the breath that was burning in her lungs and scrambles to where the Charmings lay. She restores both hearts in unison then quickly backs away. The curse is beginning to grow; thick purple smoke surrounds them as Regina watches the couple embrace. 

They’ve managed to cheat fate. She’s going back to her home, back to her son and nobody had to die. Maybe they can win, she thinks. Maybe this time she won’t have to fight alone. She catches David’s eye just before they’re completely enveloped by the curse and returns his smile. “Thank you,” David mouths. Regina’s smile is the last thing he sees of the Enchanted Forest as they are all whisked away.


	7. Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drinks, Grannies, and a whole lot of Evil Charming BroTP. Set in Camelot and Storybrooke.

**Drinks 1**

He was the only one left in the diner, had been for the better part of an hour, but David didn't notice. He's staring at the steaming coffee cup in his hands, the one Granny refills every now and then, but that David never seems to drink. He's searching the chipping linoleum countertop for a solution since the town has fallen into yet another crisis he's expected to solve. Do it all _and_ save his daughter: be the Sheriff, the Prince, the Husband, the Father. He was failing at them all.

It was suddenly too much. A sucker punch of frustration, grief, inadequacy and a dozen other emotions he couldn't give name to consumed him and he sent the cup flying through the air. It disappeared in whirl of purple smoke seconds before colliding with an unsuspecting Granny. The older woman's eyes were startled, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Booth. Now." Regina's voice behind him meant business. It was the tone you never questioned if you wanted your heart to continue to beat in your chest. David didn't want to turn to face her or the look he suspected she was giving him, but when he eventually slid off of the stool the eyes he expected to burn him alive were soft, if not as tired as his own.

Regina cocked her head toward the booth in the back corner as she made her way to the place David abandoned. Before the queen could even ask Granny placed a bottle of Scotch and two glasses on the counter. "Lock up when you leave," the older woman said as she flipped the Closed sign, turned off the lights, and walked out without another word.

"Thanks for the…" David twirled his fingers in the air as Regina slid into the booth across from him. "If that would have hit Granny… Let's just say I would have rather faced you and the Black Knights." The whole town was well aware of their matriarch's temper and no one had clue just how many weapons she had stashed behind the counter. Regina laughed as she poured them each a scotch; she knew out of everyone in Storybrooke, Granny would be the one to give the Evil Queen a run for her money. "So, what can I do for you Madame Mayor?" David took the glass she proffered and leaned back into the booth.

"You can drop the act."

"What act?" His fingers tense around the glass.

"The one where you're pretending everything is fine when you should be hitting something, or getting black out drunk, or…"

"Did Snow send you?" David asked leaning toward her over the table. His tone more harsh than he had intended.

"No, Granny called me. She's worried about you and…and so am I." She shoved his shoulder so that he sat back. "You can't shut this out David. I get that you're protecting Snow, you're trying to protect everyone. I'll never fault you for that, it's who you are. But who's looking out for you?" She reached across the table and uncurled his fingers until they were resting on the glass instead of about to shatter it. Then she sipped her own drink and waited.

She drained half the scotch before he said anything. "What was it like? When that thing was around you, what did it feel like?" David knew Regina wasn't going to leave without the answers she came for, but he had questions of his own. Questions that had been gnawing at him since the second Emma had plunged the Dark One dagger into the darkness. He watched Regina shutter and noticed the tremble in her hand as she put down her now empty glass. It was his turn to wait.

She didn't want to answer him. Regina knew what he was really asking: what did Emma feel, what was his _daughter_ going through, what was he unable to save her from? "It was bad." Her voice broke at the memory and she cursed herself for the fear that her honesty sparked in his eyes, but they vowed long ago to never lie to each other. She cleared her throat before continuing, holding his gaze as he poured them both another drink. "It was like every memory I had was being pushed forward and ripped away at the same time. I could see all of you there, but it was like you were miles away. It was loud. Cold. I was scared." David's hand covered hers, bringing her back. Regina shook her head, clearing the memories. This wasn't why she was here. She needed to get back on track. "What happened when you went home that night?"

"I had a drink," David lifted his glass in a mock toast, "a few drinks actually, and then I went to bed." He tried to pull his hand back, but Regina locked their fingers and held tightly.

"You held Snow. You took care of Snow. She told me, David."

He could feel her staring at him, but David wouldn't meet her eyes. But he also wouldn't let her hand go. "What did you do?"

"I held Henry, took care of Henry, put the boys to bed." David's ready to chastise her, to point out that they are exactly the same, but she holds up a finger stopping his arguments before they start. "And then I collapsed. Robin peeled me off of the floor; he held me against his chest so I wouldn't wake up the boys. I couldn't stop screaming, David." She didn't know she was crying until he reached across and thumbed away a tear.

"You want me to scream? Throw something? Because I don't think Granny would appreciate it." He's trying to lighten the mood, laughing it off and building up the layers she's trying to peel away. He should have known that wouldn't work with Regina.

"Yes, damnit!" She slams her fist on the table, causing ripples in the amber liquid and sending the bottle skittering across the surface. "I want you to stop pretending like you're fine when your daughter is god knows where! I want you to stop acting like everything that happened is just another day at the office! I want you to talk to me!" She's winding down, but she can see that he is too. His shoulders slump and he grabs the hand he still hasn't let go just a little tighter. "I want you to call me when you need someone to peel you off of the floor." She's relaxed into the booth again, watching him watch the scotch swirl in his glass.

"You want to be my Robin Hood?" David finally looks into her eyes. His walls are gone; he's still sparing with her (always will), but the sentiment is genuine.

"Everybody needs one," she quips. The tension breaks. They both burst at the same time, the liquor making their laughter louder and easier, and its renewed full force when David pours more liquor on the table top then in to Regina's glass causing the great and terrible Evil Queen to snort out the drink she just swallowed.

Their laughter dies down slowly. Regina waves her hand over the table transforming the scotch to strong coffee, the scent of which begins sobering them up immediately. "I may not be your Robin Hood, but I want to be your friend, David. I want to help you get through this until we get her back. And we will get her back."

Her promise meant more to him than he would have thought possible. He knew she wouldn't stop until Emma was back with them, until their lives were back to what passed for normal in their fairytale town. "Thank you, Regina. For being my friend _and_ for kicking my ass."

"Anytime, Charming. Anytime." They clinked cups and spent the rest of the night in the darkened diner nursing coffee and wounds still all too fresh.

* * *

**Drinks 2**

He was on his third round when she appeared in the dark diner. "Would it kill you to travel like a normal person?" David asked without glancing up from the counter.

"This is normal for me," she countered without missing a beat or breaking her stride. "Besides, I was not trekking through the forest in the dark in this get up." She unlatched the elaborate broach that held her cape and flung the garment over the counter.

"Did Snow send you to find me?" David threw back his drink at the mention of his wife's name. He wanted to be alone tonight, away from people, but somehow Regina never counted as 'people' with him.

If Regina noticed his avoidance of one person in particular she had enough sense not to mention it. "I didn't even know you were here. I came to drink. Arthur's liquor is locked up tighter than his damn treasury. But since you brought it up: Why are you avoiding your wife, David?"

"I'm not." He reached over the counter to get her a glass, but Regina was already swigging from the bottle. "She's avoiding me. I thought I'd make it easier for her. And that's not very refined for a queen."

She ignored his attempted insult and took another swig. "Don't be an idiot. She's scared. And so are you. You're allowed to be. And she's allowed to be strong for you. Snow doesn't care that you had a hero-worship moment with Arthur; she doesn't care that you think you let her down. She loves you and she needs you and its okay for you to need her too. You don't always have to be the hero all by yourself." Regina put down the bottle and slid it back to him. "What?" she glared at his raised eyebrow and the smirk he was unsuccessfully trying to hide. "I'm catching up. Pour."

He retrieved the bottle, impressed that he managed to get more of the liquor in the small glasses than on the counter. "Why are you here?" He asked, as their glasses clinked.

"I came here to drink, Charming. So did you. We don't need to talk." They tossed the drinks in unison, and Regina immediately set up another shot. David was staring intently at her but she had no intention of baring her soul this evening. She really had come here on her own just to get away, to be somewhere familiar, and possibly erase a few memories of the last few days in Camelot. She hadn't expected to find the prince doing the same and seeing him like this…well she couldn't just let it go. "What are you doing here besides hiding from your wife?" she asked, trying to mask her concern in sarcasm.

David couldn't help but laugh. "Didn't you she just decided we were drinking not talking?"

"It's your fault I'm a better person and therefore care about other people, David. You may as well answer me."

He sighed into his hands, letting his head drop. "I trusted him."

"Arthur?" She pours another round as she watches his head nod his affirmative. "We all did." She nudged his shoulder until he sat back up and pushed his drink in front of him. "He's King Arthur, mythical hero, legendary leader, all around good guy. He just happened to be a power hungry sociopath who's been using magic to manipulate his kingdom for decades." She talks to him like he's an idiot, her idiot. "Besides, he told you he could help save Emma. Of course you believed him."

"I should have known fairytales aren't always the entire story."

"You live up to your legend, Charming. It's not unreasonable to expect him to live up to his."

"You don't."

"I did." She tosses back another shot not noticing that David is three behind. "And it almost got Robin killed."

"Ah." David had his answer. He could have guessed. It had only been a few days since the ball and to say that Regina had almost lost everything again would be understatement. He hadn't known her when she lost Daniel, but seeing the pain and desperation in her eyes, the way she had begged for Robin's life to be saved, he knew she wouldn't have survived going through it again.

"It should have been me. All of this should have been me. We're here because Emma wouldn't let the darkness take ME." She turns away from him to wipe at the tears she hadn't expected to shed. She hates crying, especially in front of people, but the liquor is dulling her defenses and she can't seem to staunch the flow. Regina stumbles off the stool and David has an arm hooked around her waist before she crashes to the floor. "I didn't come here for this." She pushes him away, but he knows she's only angry with herself.

"We're here because YOU figured out how to get us here. We're here because YOU are putting yourself on the line to get the darkness out of my daughter." David leaves a hand on her elbow long enough to ensure she won't topple over then guides her slowly to the back of the room.

"It shouldn't be in her in the first place."

"If it had taken you, do you honestly think we still wouldn't be here fighting for you? That Robin and Henry and Snow and _I_ wouldn't have come after you?" David eyes her in disbelief. "After all that we've been through how could you still feel that you're not a part of this family?"

Her eyes are wide and glassy from too much drink as his words wash over her. Is that what she thought? Or was it that when they came to her rescue there would have been nothing left of Regina to save. What would she have done with that power, that much darkness enveloping her again? Regina was afraid to think about it.

"She's stronger than me. I don't think I would have survived it. I know I wouldn't have," she confesses, turning in his arms and resting her forehead against his chest. The room is moving, maybe it's her, or Charming, or both, but they all seem to be going with the same rocking rhythm so she lets her body give into it and leans a bit further into his arms.

"I think you don't give yourself nearly enough credit." David reaches behind him to the juke box and mashes at random buttons until the diner is filled with music and soft neon light.

They're dancing , swaying mostly, well, holding each other up in front of the juke box that Regina thinks could do with an updated playlist. "I never thanked you, did I?

"For what?" he asks as he rests his chin atop her head.

"Teaching me how to dance. I had a really good time at the ball until…" She doesn't finish, doesn't need to. He was there and it just now hits her how very _there_ he was. She pushes back from him enough so she can tip her head up and look in his eyes. "You ran for him, for me. I was only looking at Robin, I can't believe I never realized that you were the one that stopped him. David you could have been killed."

"I wasn't."

"But you…he—'' She's squeezing his arms, trying to wrap her head around everything, but it's all coming at her in flashes and fragments and the room is still spinning faster than she can comprehend until he suddenly makes it all stop with a simple kiss to her forehead.

"You're family Regina. So is he. We fight for family no matter what." It really was just that simple to him and David didn't feel the need to discuss it further. He pulled Regina's arm around his neck and let his hands drop to the velvet of her waist as he started their slow sway once more.

"Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his shoulder; trusting him completely to keep her up as the liquor worked its way through her system. This isn't why she came here, but there were not many other places she would rather be.

"You're welcome."

* * *

**Thank you for reading. Reviews make me smile. :)**


	8. The Woods

Alternate title: Bangin’ in the Woods

Jenny made me do it.  RATED M.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

* * *

 

 

She made her way to their usual meeting place.  Her heels sunk slightly into the forest floor with every step, but Regina refused to wear anything else.  Especially after she found out how much they turned her dalliance on.  He was waiting for her; he always arrived first and she’d let him wait just a bit longer each time before she revealed herself to him. 

He was pensive and pacing by the time he heard the twig snap of her approach.  David knew she made him wait on purpose, that she had been secretly watching him from some secluded spot until she saw fit to take pity on him.  Fortunately, she always made it worth the wait.  She’d chosen red today: a deep crimson silk that covered her from neck to knee, but hugged every curve between.  Pearl buttons lined her spine and curved over her rear and she made sure he took in every inch as she swayed past him.

“She had that gods damned cardigan on again,” David pounced, shoving her hard into the nearest tree.  She’d told him the first time they’d done this that he needn’t be gentle and he never had.  Not that he’d hurt her, no more than she had wanted him to anyway.  He bit at her neck, soothing red scrapes with his tongue and lips.  His hands were everywhere until they settled at the back of her neck, pulling the dress apart at the seam and sending buttons flying in every direction.  It wasn’t the first of her garments he’d destroyed.

Regina snarled at him.  “ _I_ do not wear polyester cardigans you bastard and you are not leaving here until you pick up every single one of those buttons!”  She meant it, he knew she did.  Just as sure as he knew he’d be on his hands and knees digging through the foliage when they finished, but David was just getting started.  The remnants of the dress slid easily down her body.  She hissed as his rough hands began to knead her ass, pulling her closer and wedging his knee between her legs.  She ground against him instantly and she pulled his mouth back to hers.  They fit perfectly like this (the other reason she always wore her tallest heals) and it was the time Regina most enjoyed: pressed against him, trapped but safe, where the only thing on her mind was the taste and the feel of him.

David moaned into her mouth as her hands slipped under his shirt, nails scratching lightly as she pulled it over his head.  “And her hair,” David fisted her long locks, pulling her head back as he once again attacked her neck.   “It’s worse every day.  I swear she has the same hair cut as Henry.”  Regina’s laugh vibrated against his lips before dissolving into the low moan she could never suppress when he bit that spot just above her collar bone.  The fingers not wrapped in her hair skimmed her stomach, painfully slow until Regina grew impatient and wretched his hand up to cover her breast.  He palmed her gently over the lace the covered her, trying to bend his mouth to her chest without disrupting the friction she had been building against his thigh.

“Harder,” she commanded, covering his hand with her own and squeezing until his fingers dug in to the soft swell.  He pulled the fabric aside, sliding his hand between flesh and lace and Regina arched into his touch.  “Make me come, shepherd,” she grabbed at his well-muscled ass, pulling him impossibly closer as her hips lurched against him.  She wondered if Snow appreciated his physique or if she just naively assumed that all men were chiseled like her prince.  She doubted the innocent Mary Margaret had ever thought to get herself off on her husband’s thigh or left her fingernail marks in his ass.  He wouldn’t be here if she had.  David’s hand moved from her breast and slipped between her legs.  All thoughts of Snow White were gone in an instant as strong fingers rubbed steadily against her clit.  Regina cried out against his mouth as her orgasm began ripping through her.  “Don’t you dare stop,” she panted, clutching blindly at every inch of him.  David pressed his chest against her, wedging her more securely between himself and the tree.  The bark bit at her back, but it kept her upright as he watched her legs shake then go limp.  She had her face buried in his neck, hot breath coming out in gasps against his chest as he continued to rub her to the erratic rhythm of her breathing.

“You okay?”  He wormed his arm between her back and the tree, pulling her away from the wood.  She winced and whimpered against him and David wasn’t sure if it was from the removal of his hand or the violent red scratches on her back.

“I’m good, Charming.”  She turned them and pushed him playfully against the tree that had just held her up.  “You however,” her hand coasted slowly over his painfully hard erection as she rubbed him through his jeans, “are in need of a little assistance.”

“Little?” he mused until Regina bit at his lower lip, unfastening his belt and pushing his pants down.

“Not that little,” she whispered against his ear before biting at the lobe.  She worked her way down his body, biting and kissing, feeling muscles contract under her tongue, staying one place just a second longer when his fingers would tighten in her hair.  Without warning, her mouth was around him: warm, wet, and sucking so damn hard he almost came right there.

“Fuck, Regina!” David pulled her head back and she smiled evilly up at him.  She wasn’t a woman who would kneel before anyone, but here she was, on her knees in the dirt and still somehow held all the cards.  “A little warning next time, your majesty,” David panted.  Regina sat back on her heals and ran her hands along David’s ass, up and down the back of his thighs. 

“Does she know what she has?” Regina asked casually as she began massaging his balls with the palm of her hand.  “Does she do this for you?”  She knew the answers, but enjoyed the way David’s face contorted when she mentioned his wife.  “This is your warning,” she whispered as she gripped his length and covered him with her mouth.

“Gods,” was all he could manage to say as she moved her tongue around him.  Snow had never done this for him.  He’d mentioned it once and she’d avoided him for a week.  Everything with Regina had been new and so different.  _Tell me what you want, Shepherd_.  She had announced it the first time they’d fallen together in the woods, when he was still buried inside of her and there were leafs decorating her hair.  _Tell me what you want and I just might do it._   And she has.  Everything he never dared ask his wife.  Nothing violent, nothing grotesque; He was a prince, after all.  But this, Regina’s fingers marking his ass and thighs, watching himself slide in and out of her mouth, this was heaven.

He was getting close, Regina felt his muscles tighten, his grip in her hair becoming almost painful.  With one more deep stroke she let him slip from between her lips and used his hips to pull herself to her feet.  David devoured her mouth, his tongue rubbing firmly against every part of it.  They pulled apart, both gasping for the same air, eyes locking in a silent agreement.  Now.  David scooped her up with his arms under her ass.  He laughed into her neck, another thing he could never do with his wife.  Regina wrapped her legs around his waist and held his shoulders as he lowered them both the forest floor.  He’d remembered the blanket this time, had also remembered to make sure there were no rocks or branches beneath it.  The first time had been spontaneous, frenzied.  She’d ridden him hard into the ground, knowing full well that there was a rock working its way into his kidneys.  He’d been terrified about having to explain the bruising to Snow, but he should have known she’d never see it.  They made love in the dark, dutifully, with their clothes mostly on.  Snow was ice; Regina was fire.

He pulled her panties off and tossed them aside.  It was two o’clock in the afternoon and Regina lay naked beneath him biting her lip and raising her eyebrow.  “Change your mind, Charming?” she rose to her elbows and began to cross her legs, but his hand on her knee stopped the motion.

“I’m not going back,” he pulled her knee up to her chest as he slid into her.  Regina’s head fell back as she stretched around him.

“You always go back,” it came out without the sarcasm she had intended.  She only hoped it didn’t sound as desperate to his ears as it did hers.  But he was thrusting in earnest now, probably hadn’t heard her anyway.  David pressed an arm to her back, supporting her while she raised her arms from behind her and locked them around his back.  His muscles would be the death of her, she knew.  She focused on his body: the feel of muscles sweaty and rippling beneath her palms, the firm, delicious pressure between her legs, the wandering hand that was presently tugging at her painfully hard nipples.  Not on the face that hovered above hers, that looked everywhere but her eyes.  He never looked at her when they were like this.  He’d watch her come, stared at her face while she came apart with his fingers buried inside of her.  He watched her while she stroked him with hands or tongue.  But never when he was inside of her, bringing them both to the edge.  She wondered if he realized.  “Look at me,” Regina took a chance running her fingers through his hair.  “David.” 

His hips stilled abruptly as he met her gaze.  He felt her heart pounding under his hand.  “You never look at me,” she panted, rolling her hips into him.

“But I always see you,” his hand moved to the small of her back, lifting her more tightly against him.  “Always.”  He held her gaze as he moved deeper and faster within her.  Regina fought to keep her eyes from rolling back.  She had wanted this, this connection, but the pleasure was making it impossible to hold.  He leaned closer to her face so that focusing on him was now impossible.  “Let go,” he breathed against her lips before kissing her deeply.  Something between a sob and scream left Regina’s mouth, the force of it vibrating through David’s lips.  His own cry followed seconds later, the last of his strength was used in making sure he didn’t crush her as he collapsed on the blanket.

Regina scooted into his side.  They usually skipped this part, but his arms wrapped around her easily. She settled against his shoulder and began rolling something across his chest.  He raised her hand to see a white pearl button pinched between her fingers.  “One less for you to find,” she said sleepily as he closed her hand around the button and kissed her knuckles.  David continued caressing her with his thumb as he let her arm relax.

“What if I don’t go back?” he asked after he was sure she had fallen asleep against him.  David didn’t know if he was ready for the answer.

  



	9. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of Cherish the Peanut Week: Friends and Family. Evil Charming Peanut is now a thing.

“It’s quite the day, isn’t it?” David leans against the fence beside her and bumps their hips as he hands her a glass of champagne. He looks strange in his suit. She’s used to him in jeans and flannels, but he still cleans up rather well. His hair has gone gray (hers would have to if she’d allowed it), but it suits him. There’s more lines on his face then there probably should be, she notices them all the way the sun hits him and she’s sure that hers are highlighted as well. Theirs has not been a life free of worry, or of laughter, she reminds herself as she watches the lines at his eyes pull with his smile as he watches the party they’ve stepped away from.

“That it is.” Regina separated from the group two songs ago, needing a moment to breathe and tap down the myriad of emotions running through her. She should have known he’d be the one to track her down. At some point along their journey she had just accepted that he would not stop interjecting himself into her life. At the same point she had come to appreciate it more than she’ll ever be able to tell him.

“How are you holding up?” He squints into the sun watching his wife dance with their son, while her husband dances with her daughter. It’s the million dollar question. He knows she’s doing about as well as he is.

“I’m wondering where the last 24 years have gone.” She tucks a curl that will never stay and smooths out her dress. It’s subdued for her; miles from her elaborate gowns, or even the figure hugging dresses or her mayoral days, but it’s not her day and she’s neither of those woman anymore. “He’s a good man, David. Not the least bit good enough for her,” she adds with the wicked grin she’ll never lose, “but the best I could have hoped for.”

“Thank you. David just stands with her for a while, watching the party. The whole town is there, people he hasn’t seen in years have come back to witness this rare fairytale in their lives. “I feel the same about her, you know. You and Robin raised an amazing young lady. And Neal has been head over heels in love with her since they were children.” He’s grateful his son found love with Ella. Although Snow and he would have supported whatever relationship Neal found himself in, he’s unabashedly thankful that being the son of Snow White and Prince Charming is no big deal to the daughter of Robin Hood and the Evil Queen. 

“It truly takes a village, doesn’t it?” she laughs after the silence becomes too loud. The town is dancing, laughing, and drinking too much champagne. There are no curses, no new evils, just this celebration of love. “I’m going to miss her so much.” 

David nods silently, looking down at her. They were leaving tonight, Mr. and Mrs. Nolan, crossing the town line and forging their lives outside this sleepy town. “They’ll come back.” He drapes an arm over her shoulders and she echoes with her own snaking around his back. “They’ve been away before, Regina, they always come back.”

“I know.” And she does. All the children had gone off to schools, careers, adventures beyond their magical borders. Almost all of them had made their way back to Storybrooke eventually. It was home. “This just feels different. Like they came back for the wedding and they’re just saying goodbye.” 

“And she’s your last one.” She nods silently, the vision of the festivities blurring in tears. He still has a daughter at home, a surprise Charming addition that will start school this fall. He doesn’t even want to think about the mess he will be when this is her day. Regina’s smiling up at him, a knowing grin that tells him she’ll hold his hand when his baby girl dances away. “They just need to get it out of their system,” David brings himself back to today, back to her. “Look at Henry, our world traveling novelist, but the minute Cora was born he came right back to raise his daughter. Here.” He sweeps his arm for emphasis, sloshing the remaining champagne into the grass.

Regina scans the crowd until she found Emma cooing over the baby. “I still can’t believe he named my granddaughter after that woman,” she scoffs, but is grateful for the change in subject. “I still can’t believe I have a granddaughter.”

“Cora did save him in the Underworld. She got us all home.” David knows he doesn’t need to remind her. As she had said, 24 years had passed in the blink of an eye; her mother’s sacrifice was never far from the front of Regina’s mind. 

Another nod, another drink of champagne and the flute was drained. She doesn’t want to think about that place, or her mother, or tomorrow when she’ll wake up in a house devoid of children. She wants to be happy; to enjoy this beautiful evening watching her daughter twirl in her white satin gown, watch carefully tamed curls spin all around her as she throws her head back and laughs. It’s Regina’s laugh. After all this time she still has no idea how that happened. Ella has her father’s baby blues and deep dimples, her mother’s fiery hair, but every time she smiles (which is almost always) she is Regina. The very best parts of her ingrained into the child she raised. 

She leaves her glass on the railing as they make their way back towards the party. Kilian is doing an embarrassing version of the robot with Roland and the littlest Charming. Ella has twirled from her father’s arms back in to her new husbands and she catches Robin not so subtly wiping the tears from his eyes. They’ll hold each other tonight and look back on memories of when their baby girl was still a baby. But until this fantastical night is over, Regina is going to enjoy it. 

“Dance with me, Charming,” she grabs his hand and pulls him to the center of the floor. “Our children just got married.”


End file.
